Deal yourself a winning hand — Williams’ Aces & Kings is an electromechanical four-player wrapped in a classic cards-and-gambling theme, designed by the legendary Steve Kordek, one of the true giants of pinball history whose career spanned the entire evolution of the modern game. With reel scoring and a confirmed run of 4,153, it’s a handsome, well-appointed woodrail machine that plays with real strategic texture.
The strategy is genuinely rewarding. There are two top lanes, green and yellow, and whichever one you roll through lights the corresponding saucer below for a lucrative ten-times scoring on that ball — a big multiplier worth steering toward. The spinner adds to your green or yellow bonus depending on which arrow is lit, with the arrow changing via the “change” switches, and you collect at the corresponding scoop. There’s even a clever “Up Post” switch under the center pop bumper: popping up the post gives you more control over the game, though you’ll want to watch for the Down Post too. In standard mode, collecting four Kings or four Aces lights the extra ball, giving a focused player a clear high-value goal.
Aces & Kings is a smartly designed Kordek machine that packs real depth into its gambling package, with that ten-times lane scoring and the controllable up-post giving a thoughtful player plenty to work with. Kordek was a genuine legend, and playing one of his designs connects you to the deep history of the craft. For the collector who loves EM strategy and pinball’s foundational figures, it’s a rewarding find. Light your lanes, work the spinner, pop that up-post, and collect your Aces. The house always wins, unless you know the machine — and this one rewards the player who does.